My Week in TV Part I: Carmen Sandiego "Opera in the Outback", The Orville "Deflectors"

My week in TV: In early 2018, I did a series on a Disqus channel where I chronicled my week in TV. It's been difficult to keep track of all the offerings out there, so I'm tackling a single week of what i'm watching in detail. The problem is that by the time I finish and proof these episodes they'll probably be several weeks old. 

Credit: Netflix

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego (Netflix)-"Opera in the Outback"-I was a geography major and grew up on the computer game, the game show and the cartoon. So I was especially excited for this series even if I’m not the target audience. The visual look is sleek with a largely 2-d feel that evokes the computer game and the trademark red fedora and coat don't disappoint. In this case, it's somewhat of a plot point that Carmen re-invents herself through the wardrobe itself.

Along with effectively teaching your kid about geography, unfortunately the series will teach your kid about the broadest of stereotypes. Why the Japanese instructor hasn’t been called out by anyone for his Chinglish or why Gray (AKA Crackle) is acceptable as a walking bundle of clichés, is beyond me.

Fortunately, we have an Australian who loves opera this week and not didgeridoo music so that’s a start. This episode has Ivy and Zach (two Boston chowdaheads without any nuance) which is rarely a plus considering Carmen is so well-developed. The episode’s plot takes some surprising turns which is more than I’d expect for a kid’s show:  The whole “launch the boomerang” was quite sophisticated.

One problem that often plagues serials is that the good guy always wins at the end. Even adult-oriented procedurals like “Monk” had the good guy winning in the end, whereas better shows like “Burn Notice” and “The Good Wife” teased out serial plots with the protagonist hitting peaks and valleys. This is a kid’s show but it ingraining it with a bit more sophistication would do wonders.

Credit: SBS.com

Orville (Fox)-“Deflectors”-One of the reasons that TV sitcoms with celeberatory plotlines of romance aren’t as sex positive as you might think is that these shows often imply that singlehood is a state of incompleteness and everyone needs to be paired up (ditto romantic comedy genre). You know Orville is becoming Star Trek: Love Boat when Star Trek when the show is trying to get a robot with no feelings laid. This week, we know next to nothing about the new security chief yet it initially appears it’s going to be another romance-of-the-w eek. The unfortunate thing is if you’re only casually familiar with “The Orville”, you might have noticed the casting change which is why it’s often recommended that casting directors go for physical contrasts when trying to differentiate people (according to a book I read on casting, at least).

Fortunately, the episode becomes significantly more than just a romance story as it morphs into a murder mystery with capable twists. The episode highlights a heavy reliance of “The Orville” on the Moclan for the alien of the week. While the Moclan can be a little one-note and present fairly obvious social commentary, their contrast is good for the show’s humorous edge. It’s also slightly more realistic for the viewer than Star Trek’s M.O. of having differing aliens each week to the point where it was impossible to get a sense of scale for this. In an era of TV that places more emphasis on world building as opposed to the 1960s this is pretty forward-thinking.

What is also a positive here is a natural progression to the romance. If a healthy relationship is when the pursued takes the lead to show the pursuer how she wants to be courted, it certainly sparks the imagination to think of the confusion and sense of discovery that must be going through the Moclan’s head when she leads her to a holosuite recreation of post-World War II Paris and teaches him how to dance.  Considering this show’s main advantage over Trek is its more light-hearted approach to the material and the way it can poke through tropes (i.e. the officers are going to drink real alcohol, why wouldn’t they), it’s disappointing people are still stuck in 20^th Century Earth. No one wants to see a version of 2060 where Florida is under water?

The show’s attempts to tackle social issues are generally in need of a bit more tonal calibration but I was personally surprised by how well it earned its final dramatic moments. It was mostly sold in the actress’s delivery. It’s not particularly often in happy future land when someone is legitimately pissed off to the point of cutting off contact.  It helps a little that the security officer is new so it’s not a plot invention within this hour-long arc that she has decided she’s had enough of Klyden. Like an audience surrogate, her lack of experience with the people on board makes a very negative impression far more credible.